Award Data

High energy physics accelerators and instruments in other fields require the use of thousands of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities that are made of high purity niobium (Nb) material. The purity of Nb is critical for these cavities to reach the highest accelerating fields. Tantalum (Ta) is the most prolific of metal contaminants, can cause thermal breakdown, and can prevent the cavitie ...

Superconducting radio frequency (SRF) power couplers are used to introduce RF power into evacuated accelerating cavities typically operating at a few degrees Kelvin. These couplers are historically a problematic component that adversely affects the cost and reliability of the entire accelerator system. This project will develop a coupler which is low in capital and operating cost, highly reliable, ...

Many refinery product streams, particularly those from Ultra Low Hydrodesulfurisation units, are prone to haze due to water emulsions. Haze is also problematic for biodiesel production, as hazy fuel cannot be used until the haze settles or is removed, which creates costly scheduling and shipping delays. This project will develop a novel membrane process for the removal of dissolved and dispersed ...

There is no reasonable way for teachers, parents or students to search on the Web for science content, especially Department of Energy research that is suited for a specific grade level or degree of difficulty. There are thousands of small collections scattered through the Web. The only way to search them is one by one, which is too difficult. This project will develop a grade level stratification ...

As grain ethanol production capacity becomes constrained by the available supply of corn grain, production of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass is widely seen as necessary to meet the surging demand for fuel ethanol. However, the high cost of biomass pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis make cellulosic ethanol too expensive. This project will develop technology to improve the quality of ensi ...

Compared with conventional processes used to produce many oxygenated chemicals, processes based on the selective catalytic oxidation of alkanes to produce oxygenates could yield enormous economic, energy, and environmental benefits. However, commercial development of such processes has been hindered, in part, because the excessive heat released by alkane oxidation causes over-oxidation (burning) ...

In planned Gen-IV nuclear reactor designs, accurate temperature measurements are needed to identify hot spots (especially in the fuel cladding), control thermal cycles, and perform temperature compensation of other sensors. At temperatures beyond 1000°C, temperature spikes may occur, which could lead to premature failure of the reactor pressure vessel, fuel meltdown, containment breach, and poss ...

Photovoltaic (PV) technology is predicted to have a very substantial impact on the nation¿s wealth and economy in the 21st century. For very-large-scale PV cells, the high standards for production demand a reduction in labor costs and in-line automated methods to monitor and diagnose the production process. This project will develop a high-throughput, in-line, automated diagnostic system that w ...

Photovoltaics, the direct conversion of sunlight into electric energy, is a promising clean-tech approach to energy production. Organic solar cells show particular promise because they have the potential for light-weight flexible devices with low material and production costs. Yet, despite significant improvements over the last couple of years, the maximum power conversion efficiency of organic ...

The extremely challenging speed and voltage specifications of converter circuits used to attach renewable energy sources and energy storage elements to the power grid require the development of new semiconductor switch technology. In addition, the robustness and reliability of energy storage power processing circuits used in conventional power grid systems are enhanced significantly with the avail ...